Overview

The CCBR BioBank Initiative

Patient's samples are for translational research are analogous to gas for a car: the driving force! During my research career I have always been aware of the value of patient samples for research and the difficulty of obtaining these samples in a systematic and ethical manner. This was largely due to an ineffective and inconsistent process of BioBanking and not the lack of enthusiasm from patients to donate. Therefore, I started the CCBR BioBanking initiative which started storing the first patient samples in September 2011. This initiative has quickly taken root and other departments at C&W and CFRI have joined. It is our hope to establish institutional BioBanking mechanisms to develop a standardized and ethical method of consenting, processing samples and storing health information.

For more information about the BioBank initiative you can go to the following website: bcchr.ca/biobank

Minimal Residual Disease testing

Minimal Residual Disease (MRD) is the name given to small numbers of malignant cells that remain in the patient during or after treatment when the patient has no signs or symptoms of the disease. It is very important to see whether patients still have MRD as it may mean they need more or different treatments. Flow cytometry methods lookat markers on the cell surface of cells or inside the cell. Malignant cells often have a different expression pattern of markers comapred to normal cells and therefore using this method we can distinguish between normal and malignant cells in a large number of patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).

In our laboratory we routinely test all patients with ALL for MRD at day 8 in their blood and Day 29 in bone marrow by a method called flow cytometry. We are currently investigating new markers to detect MRD more specifically and in more patients with ALL. We are also working on a method to detect MRD in patients with Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML). In addition, we are doing research in collaboration with Dr. Strahlendorf and Dr. Tanya Brown to see whether we can detect minimal disease as well as MRD in the bone marrow of patients with a solid tumor called neuroblastoma.

Publications

The effect of oral iron with or without multiple micronutrients on hemoglobin concentration and hemoglobin response among nonpregnant Cambodian women of reproductive age: a 2 x 2 factorial, double-blind, randomized controlled supplementation trial.
Karakochuk CD and Barker MK and Whitfield KC and Barr SI and Vercauteren SM and Devlin AM and Hutcheon JA and Houghton LA and Prak S and Hou K and Chai TL and Stormer A and Ly S and Devenish R and Oberkanins C and Pühringer H and Harding KB and De-Regil LM and Kraemer K and Green TJ
DOI: 10.3945/ajcn.116.140996
PubMed: 28490515
05/2017

Business Planning for a Campus-Wide Biobank.
Tarling TE and Lasser F and Carter C and Matzke LA and Dhugga G and Arora N and Dee S and LeBlanc J and Babinsky S and O'Donoghue S and Cheah S and Watson P and Vercauteren SM
DOI: 10.1089/bio.2016.0077
PubMed: 28151006
02/2017

How Biobanks Are Assessing and Measuring Their Financial Sustainability.
Brown T and Kelly DD and Vercauteren SM and Wilson WH and Werner A
DOI: 10.1089/bio.2016.0086
PubMed: 27869475
02/2017

von Willebrand disease type 2B.
McGinnis E and Vercauteren SM
DOI: 10.1182/blood-2016-09-729434
PubMed: 28126959
01/2017

Comparison of four immunoassays to measure serum ferritin concentrations and iron deficiency prevalence among non-pregnant Cambodian women and Congolese children.
Karakochuk CD and Whitfield KC and Rappaport AI and Barr SI and Vercauteren SM and McLean J and Hou K and Talukder A and Houghton LA and Bailey KB and Boy E and Green TJ
DOI: 10.1515/cclm-2016-0421
PubMed: 27337742
01/2017

von Willebrand disease type 2B.
McGinnis E and Vercauteren SM
DOI: 10.1182/blood-2016-08-729459
PubMed: 27932330
12/2016

The significance of peripheral blood minimal residual disease to predict early disease response in patients with B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
Setiadi A and Owen D and Tsang A and Milner R and Vercauteren S
DOI: 10.1111/ijlh.12535
PubMed: 27339737
10/2016

Opinions of Adolescents and Parents About Pediatric Biobanking.
Kong CC and Tarling TE and Strahlendorf C and Dittrick M and Vercauteren SM
DOI: 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2015.12.015
PubMed: 27013273
04/2016

The Homozygous Hemoglobin EE Genotype and Chronic Inflammation Are Associated with High Serum Ferritin and Soluble Transferrin Receptor Concentrations among Women in Rural Cambodia.
Karakochuk CD and Whitfield KC and Rappaport AI and Barr SI and Vercauteren SM and McLean J and Prak S and Hou K and Talukder A and Devenish R and Green TJ
DOI: 10.3945/jn.115.218636
PubMed: 26491125
12/2015

Elevated levels of iron in groundwater in Prey Veng province in Cambodia: a possible factor contributing to high iron stores in women.
Karakochuk CD and Murphy HM and Whitfield KC and Barr SI and Vercauteren SM and Talukder A and Porter K and Kroeun H and Eath M and McLean J and Green TJ
DOI: 10.2166/wh.2014.297
PubMed: 26042988
06/2015

Evaluation of two methods to measure hemoglobin concentration among women with genetic hemoglobin disorders in Cambodia: a method-comparison study.
Karakochuk CD and Janmohamed A and Whitfield KC and Barr SI and Vercauteren SM and Kroeun H and Talukder A and McLean J and Green TJ
DOI: 10.1016/j.cca.2014.12.021
PubMed: 25542983
02/2015

Genetic hemoglobin disorders rather than iron deficiency are a major predictor of hemoglobin concentration in women of reproductive age in rural prey Veng, Cambodia.
Karakochuk CD and Whitfield KC and Barr SI and Lamers Y and Devlin AM and Vercauteren SM and Kroeun H and Talukder A and McLean J and Green TJ
DOI: 10.3945/jn.114.198945
PubMed: 25527668
01/2015

Funding sources for Canadian biorepositories: the role of user fees and strategies to help fill the gap.
Barnes RO and Schacter B and Kodeeswaran S and CTRNet Management Committee and Watson PH
DOI: 10.1089/bio.2014.0052
PubMed: 25314324
10/2014

Nodular sclerosis Hodgkin lymphoma with classic Reed-Sternberg cells.
Li SJ and Vercauteren SM
DOI: 10.1182/blood-2014-04-571745
PubMed: 25259393
08/2014

Policy recommendations for addressing privacy challenges associated with cell-based research and interventions.
Ogbogu U and Burningham S and Ollenberger A and Calder K and Du L and El Emam K and Hyde-Lay R and Isasi R and Joly Y and Kerr I and Malin B and McDonald M and Penney S and Piat G and Roy DC and Sugarman J and Vercauteren S and Verhenneman G and West L and Caulfield T
DOI: 10.1186/1472-6939-15-7
PubMed: 24485220
02/2014

Permission to contact (PTC)--a strategy to enhance patient engagement in translational research.
Cheah S and O'Donoghue S and Daudt H and Dee S and LeBlanc J and Braun L and Barnes R and Vercauteren S and Boone RH and Watson PH
DOI: 10.1089/bio.2013.0023
PubMed: 24845592
08/2013

Auer rods in mature granulocytes of a patient with mixed lineage leukemia.
Dmitrienko S and Vercauteren S
DOI: 10.1182/blood-2011-08-369835
PubMed: 22724140
05/2012

T cells of patients with myelodysplastic syndrome are frequently derived from the malignant clone.
Vercauteren SM and Starczynowski DT and Sung S and McNeil K and Salski C and Jensen CL and Bruyere H and Lam WL and Karsan A
DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2141.2011.08872.x
PubMed: 25289412
02/2012

Leukemic transformation of anaplastic large-cell lymphoma.
Vawda A and Davis J and Vercauteren S
DOI: 10.1182/blood-2010-11-318048
PubMed: 22073414
10/2011

Copy number alterations at polymorphic loci may be acquired somatically in patients with myelodysplastic syndromes.
Starczynowski DT and Vercauteren S and Sung S and Brooks-Wilson A and Lam WL and Karsan A
DOI: 10.1016/j.leukres.2010.08.003
PubMed: 20801506
04/2011

Array comparative genomic hybridization of peripheral blood granulocytes of patients with myelodysplastic syndrome detects karyotypic abnormalities.
Vercauteren SM and Sung S and Starczynowski DT and Lam WL and Bruyere H and Horsman DE and Tsang P and Leitch H and Karsan A
DOI: 10.1309/ajcph27zizejlorf
PubMed: 20551276
07/2010

Reduction in multi-lineage and erythroid progenitors distinguishes myelodysplastic syndromes from non-malignant cytopenias.
Vercauteren SM and Bashashati A and Wu D and Brinkman RR and Eaves C and Eaves A and Karsan A
DOI: 10.1016/j.leukres.2009.03.019
PubMed: 19414193
12/2009

High-resolution whole genome tiling path array CGH analysis of CD34+ cells from patients with low-risk myelodysplastic syndromes reveals cryptic copy number alterations and predicts overall and leukemia-free survival.
Starczynowski DT and Vercauteren S and Telenius A and Sung S and Tohyama K and Brooks-Wilson A and Spinelli JJ and Eaves CJ and Eaves AC and Horsman DE and Lam WL and Karsan A
DOI: 10.1182/blood-2007-11-122028
PubMed: 18663149
10/2008

Improved survival in HIV-associated diffuse large B-cell lymphoma with the addition of rituximab to chemotherapy in patients receiving highly active antiretroviral therapy.
Ezzat H and Filipenko D and Vickars L and Galbraith P and Li C and Murphy K and Montaner JS and Harris M and Hogg RS and Vercauteren S and Leger CS and Zypchen L and Leitch HA
DOI: 10.1310/hct0803-132
PubMed: 17621460
2007

Primitive AML progenitors from most CD34(+) patients lack CD33 expression but progenitors from many CD34(-) AML patients express CD33.
Vercauteren S and Zapf R and Sutherland H
DOI: 10.1080/14653240601164042
PubMed: 17453971
2007

Constitutively active Notch4 promotes early human hematopoietic progenitor cell maintenance while inhibiting differentiation and causes lymphoid abnormalities in vivo.
Vercauteren SM and Sutherland HJ
DOI: 10.1182/blood-2004-01-0204
PubMed: 15231576
10/2004

Telomerase is limiting the growth of acute myeloid leukemia cells.
Röth A and Vercauteren S and Sutherland HJ and Lansdorp PM
DOI: 10.1038/sj.leu.2403177
PubMed: 14562114
12/2003

Detection and clinical significance of human acute myeloid leukaemia progenitors capable of long-term proliferation in vitro.
Sutherland H and Blair A and Vercauteren S and Zapf R
DOI: 10.1046/j.1365-2141.2001.02927.x
PubMed: 11529847
08/2001

CD133 (AC133) expression on AML cells and progenitors.
Vercauteren SM and Sutherland HJ
DOI: 10.1080/146532401317248054
PubMed: 11953029
2001

Human B7-1 is more efficient than B7-2 in providing co-stimulation for alloantigen-specific T cells.
van Dijk AM and Otten HG and Vercauteren SM and Kessler FL and de Boer M and Verdonck LF and de Gast GC
DOI: 10.1002/eji.1830260946
PubMed: 8814278
09/1996

Research
Research Group Members

Qudrat Aujla, Research Assistant
Natalie Blaszczyk
Seoyoung Chae, Co-op Student
Veronica Chow, Lab Manager
Michelle Dittrick, Clinical Research Program Manager
Ashton Ellis, Research Coordinator
Jasleen Grewal, Summer Student
Sue Kang, Co-op Student
Vi Nguyen, Research Technician
Mackenzie Sturn